Echelon
by earth.mark.two
Summary: A last hope of those opposing the Lich King. One last force sent against him. We could never succeed. And I must now face my past. Arthas Menethil, the man I loved - Rated T for descriptive violence.


**Aylä Well, this is my return to the FanFiction world. I have had excessive writers block lately, but this story came into my head out of nowhere, and I had to put it down. Hope you enjoy it, Review if you can, I would love your opinion on it.**

** Of course, I own nothing. Warcraft and it's characters are the property of Blizzard.**

--

I marched at the front lines of the formation, my wolf loping along beneath me in seemingly perfect time with the other wolves in the formation. In front of us, the many miles of land before Icecrown Citadel spread out, before coming to a halt at the foot of the Citadel, which loomed over us with a sense of impending doom.

"For the Lich King!" Spinning as soon as I heard the battle cry, I caught the latter stages of the ambush, which took most of the outer soldiers instantly. Drawing my weapon, I decapitated a death knight that came at me, ducking under an approaching weapon and casting a spell over its wielder. Standing on the saddle of my wolf, I flipped back, landing expertly on the ground and casting a quick healing spell. I met a blow from behind, bracing myself against the attack. The undead growled deeply, before my second in command lopped off its head.

"I got your back." He chuckled, and I rolled my eyes before thrusting my dagger into the face of a soldier.

"You might want to keep an eye on your own, Theodris."

"That's what you're for!" The battle pulled us apart, but I tried my best to keep him in my line of sight, healing him occasionally if need be. The healers at the centre of the echelon were having trouble keeping up, and occasionally someone would fall through the cracks.

"Your soldiers will fall. Your cities will burn. I am the King of Azeroth now, and the Alliance and the Horde will cease to exist." I spun at the sound of the Lich King's voice, recoiling at the sight of him and how close he stood. The battle around us seemed to move in slow motion.

"We will be victiorious. Azeroth will never fall under your command, traitor." He drew his hand across my face with a force that sent me flying into the stone wall at my side, and left me stunned.

"Watch, watch as your forces die and the last hope of the world falls." I struggled against his hold, but his strength surpassed mine. The strength of two, in the body of one. How could we ever believe we could beat him? Too many had defected from our side of the line, too many had turned on their own to become death knights. Abandoned and betrayed until our ranks were too depleted to stand a chance. But still we had held our heads high. Ignorant. We could never beat the Lich King. Theodris was the last thing I saw before I blacked out.

When I came back to consciousness, I was lying in a dungeon, with him sitting nearby, helmet by his side.

"Why not just kill me?" I forced my body to sit up, ignoring the aching groans my bones let out in protest of the movement. My armour had been removed, leaving me in my undergarments, and there were numerous wounds and bruises over my body.

"You are no good to me dead. You know there is no point trying to escape. You're unarmed, you have no defensive armour. There is no chance." Glancing up at him once more, I found his eyes fixated on me. "You don't stand a chance."

"What good am I alive? I will never join you. I will never turn against those I love, those I honour."

"A proud soldier of the Horde. But the Horde will not last forever. Join my ranks and I can offer you immortality, all the power you can dream of." He held in his hand a pendant I wore, bearing the mark of the horde. It was emblazoned over my left forearm also, visible now my armour had been removed.

"I do not require power. I am loyal to the Horde, and there is nothing you can do to me or say to me that will sway that loyalty." He stood, his blue eyes piercing me with anger.

"You will change your mind, Blood elf. You will join me."

"Never!" I yelled after him as the door was slammed back into place with a solid thud. I looked down over my body, casting small healing spells over the wounds that were substantial enough to require it. The poignant odour of blood was overpowering without any fresh air, and I fought the urge to retch. The cell was simple, with no windows and a solid stone door. There was a rustic bed in the corner, and something I presumed was a toilet, though it hardly resembled one. Stumbling over to the mattress, I laid down and fell asleep.

Once again, Arthas was nearby when I woke, leaning against the wall, his helmet shading his face from my view, but his eyes glowing eerily.

"I haven't changed my mind, Arthas." He held out a black dress and looked me over.

"Put it on."

"Why?"

"I said, 'Put it on'" He growled, throwing it at me. I caught it easily and slipped into it, lacing up the front. "Now, come with me. Remember, there is no point in trying."

"I'll keep it in mind." I replied dryly, smoothing the material of the dress. It fit perfectly, the sleeves hanging off my shoulders, tightened around the bust and beneath it, giving my figure a boost. The material was light, and floated around me ethereally.

We walked up a few flights of stairs, til we came to a ledge looking out over Icecrown.

"The world will be mine, Aylä, it is only a matter of time. Those forces that stand against me fall at my feet. Their soldiers join me, or die." In the distance, I could see smoke billowing from the Argent Tournament Grounds, and the golden embers were still visible at the Shadow Vault. The eerie silence was made ever worse by the fact there was nobody in sight. No allies, nor enemies. It was as through all the world had come to an end, and he and I stood at the brink of nothingness, alone.

"Don't you see? You cannot win? All those who oppose me will die. Join me, and this world will be ours. Conquered."

"It isn't a conquest!" I yelled, pulling away from his grip on my arm. "Those people stood against you because whether you see it or not, you are evil. Every move you make, is evil."

Turning away, I watched the smoke billow from the grounds.

"Do not think I don't remember, Aylä." I paled, my eyes flickering away. "I know who you are. The past we shared."

"You are no longer that person. You haven't been him for a long time, Arthas."

"I remember everything." He pulled my wrist, moving me to face him. "I'm not so different."

"You killed all those people. Your lust for power was stronger than whatever love I thought you had for me."

"This was always our destiny. No matter the choices we made, this is the place we would end up. Aylä, our paths have always been joined. There was no denying it."

"I came here, ready to kill you."

"And could you?" He unsheathed Frostmourne, holding the massive blade out to me, hilt first. "Would you?"

I took it, shocked at the weight, and held it out. There were several vantage points in his armour. Several places I could plant the blade. Eventually, after a very long time, I stood down.

"No."

"They didn't expect that. That their last hope would be unable to fulfil the quest given her."

"They didn't expect me to fail." I whispered, handing him back the sword. He sheathed it, and reached up, pulling off his helmet. His face bore so much emotion, such anger, such sadness.

"You know me, Aylä." Stepping forward, I placed a hand over his chest. "It belonged only to you."

"And you cut it out. You abandoned what you felt for me the day you abandoned your humanity. Without a heart, you cannot love. You cannot love me."

"Join me, Aylä. Be my queen. This world will fall under our command, we will answer to no-one. No authority to tell us we must never be together. No rules, no law. A single force, that will wipe out all opposition."

"Why should I turn against them?"

"They told us we were wrong. That we must not be together, ever. They kept us apart."

"We were on opposite sides of the line, Arthas. We were never destined to be together."

"Now we can. Nobody can stand in our way." I turned back away from him.

"No. You are not the man I loved. You don't even resemble him anymore."

"You're being moved to a room within the Citadel. You can have anything you wish. Do not try to escape." With that, he headed back inside the building, and I felt a tear make its way down my cheek.

"I could never love the Lich King." I whispered to the wind, before turning to follow him.

--

** Remember, reviews are always appreciated. I know Arthas is slightly OOC, but this is my version of the lore. Hope everyone enjoyed it.**


End file.
